Just in time for your summer vacation, there is a new land opening at Walt Disney World! Inside Hollywood Studios, the new Toy Story Land will open on June 30, 2018.

So what’s in the new land? There is a new Slinky Dog roller coaster that coils around curves, hills, and drops. In addition, there will be Alien Swirling Saucers that will swirl you in an alien rocket. You can go into Andy’s room and blast your way through a carnival themed arcade. Finally, Woody’s Lunch box will be open for themed treats and to make you an “honorary” toy.

According to the Disney Tourist blog, “The premise of the land is to shrink guests to the size of a toy to enter the land. The attractions will include a family-friendly roller coaster where guests board Slinky Dog’s back for a ride on a “coaster kit” toy that Andy has built in his play area (think Gadget’s Go Coaster or Barnstormer). The other attraction will be an Alien saucers attraction, with the little green aliens from the movie taking guests for a spin in their very own flying saucers (think Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree).”

I know a lot of you are planning your Spring Break trips to Disneyland, so I thought I would offer my advice.

1) Our ultimate trip is Sunday – Thursday (add a day if you want to see Harry Potter at Universal). We drive on Sunday and arrive around dinner time. We make reservations for Goofy’s Kitchen for Sunday night. We get great pictures and autographs with the characters and starts our Disney trip off with a bang.

2) Stay as close to the park as you can afford. Use Hilton points for the Hilton. Good Neighbor hotels are always a good choice. Plan to stay within walking distance.

3) Purchase your tickets online. If your kids are younger, no need to Park Hopper, one park is enough.

4) Download the Disneyland Mobile App. It has Park Maps, Character locations, Wait Times, Dining Options, Shop locations, Restroom locations, PhotoPass, Entertainment and so much more

5) Buy MaxPass. Once in the park, this lets you get all of your Fastpasses on your phone. It also gives you access to all of the professional photos that the Disney Cast Members take.

6) Pack basic snacks. Every restaurant and food kiosk offers free ice water, so with a few snacks, you can eat one meal at the Park each day. We prefer to carry one backpack with hand sanitizer, power bars and apples.

7) Make Restaurant Reservations – we usually eat at two nice places each trip. Goofy’s kitchen for the characters and Carthage Circle (California Adventure) for the relaxing atmosphere.

When you enter Disneyland, get Fantasmic Fast Passes. These are paper tickets and do not interfere with the ride fast passes.

When you enter California Adventure, get World of Color Fast Passes. These are paper tickets and do not interfere with your fast passes.

Whew! It has been a great week for merchants, but a really bad week for my bank account. Well, my imaginary bank account, because I can’t actually purchase any of the items that are featured this week.

On Monday, Coach launched a line of Minnie Mouse handbags, coin purses and bag tags. They are stunning with their adorable dots and Minnie ears. But holy budget Batman, the cheapest item was $95, which was a bag tag. Aren’t those free at the airport? I must be the only one with budget constraints, because the entire site was sold out by Monday afternoon.

Now the kitchen can join the bandwagon, as Le Creuset has launched a Mickey Mouse Dutch Oven. It is bright red, with Mickey Mouse featured all around it and on the handle. I am not much of a cook, but even my humble oven would love a dash of red Mickey Mouse….until I saw the price tag. I don’t know how much the Dutch cook, but my entire stove did not cost as much as this Dutch Oven. I am not even sure what you make with a Dutch Oven, but I won’t be making it at my house.

Maybe in my dream, I will sit on my Ethan Allen Mickey Mouse chair, I will eat a home cooked meal from my Mickey Mouse Dutch Oven and happily swing my Minnie Coach purse. But for now, I will admire them from a distance.

There is a new addition to Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom. It is not a lion, a tiger or a bear. It is a baby hippo! It has been just five days since the birth of a Nile hippopotamus at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and already the newborn is garnering attention from around the world as guests fall in love with the newest addition to the herd.

For Disney’s animal care experts, the calf’s arrival has been a labor of love as they have spent months preparing for the first hippo birth at the park in 13 years. Momma and baby are doing well and staying close together as they bond. Guests may see Tuma and her adorable calf on Kilimanjaro Safaris day and night.

The next important question, is what should the hippo be named? Any suggestions?